Tuesday, February 27, 2007

wooly magic!

from this...

to this!

jennifer v.e. made this adorable beanie for a co-worker's new bambino. she was inspired to really go wild with the colors after taking a colorwork class with the heretical one. how about you? as in, what did you make with your wooly? email lucinda(at)wildwoolsyarn(dot)com or leave a comment here.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

40 wooly hugs released for valentine's day

our last knit graffiti--the giant stocking and knitted wall--mysteriously disappeared shortly after we put them up. maybe we're hopelessly optimistic, but we thought: wouldn't it be nice if they had been taken by someone who actually needed a giant knitted object to stay warm?

and then we thought: why not make that the object of our next tagging? to create knitted objects specifically intended to be taken and used by someone in need. we decided valentine's would be the perfect time for our knitted "hugs." as it turns out, we couldn't have picked a better day to give away warm, wooly scarves. it hasn't been this cold and snowy in four years.

the best part came just after we finished hanging all 40 of the scarves along main street in rochester: seeing a homeless-looking guy take one down and stuff it in his pocket.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

valentine's day: hug a wooly!

dozens of wild woolies in the form of blue sky bulky scarves will be released along main street, rochester, tomorrow morning. their mission: to give a much-needed valentine hug to chilly pedestrians as they trudge through the blizzard that's supposed to dump up to two feet of snow. just call us wild at heart.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

not a stitch to wear

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

100 woolies just released!

we don't know where they went (well, okay, maybe we do...but if we told you, we'd have to kill you...) we don't know where they'll end up...but we DO know they're destined for greatness. or at least something wild and wooly. c'mon knitters! show us just how wild you can be! (dammit jim, i'm a KNITTER, not a doctor!)

woolies in maine!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Wooly Loves Guinness

A Wooly was recently sited in Gainsville and this report was sent via Sam, brother to one of the Wild Bunch Members.

here is what Sam had to say......A second Wooly was spotted in the hipster scene of Gainesville, FL.Taking shelter from the pouring rain, this little Wooly was spotted sitting on the bar at the Top Restaurant enjoying a nice frothy Guinness on a chilly night. Yes, it gets chilly in Gainesville. I can’t believe that the Wooly was able to drink that much of this beer without being snatched up by some knitting hipster seeking to make a scarf for this unusually chilly weather in Gainesville. Better yet, I am amazed that the froth on the Guinness never mucked up the Wooly’s fuzzy complexion. However, apparently from the picture, perhaps Wooly had one too many to drink as he/she was coming a bit unraveled.

Let see if someone takes this one home and responds to the message on the tag.

Monday, December 18, 2006

The Wild Bunch strikes!

Our next hit of Wild Woolies was bigger than a ball of yarn. In fact, it was over 80 balls of yarn that created these giant knit sculptures that were "installed" around our fair city in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Our own "Ode to Knitta Please," the giant knit objects included a 10-foot-long Christmas stocking, an over 20-foot-long knitted wall, and two city park pillar cozies, all stitched from skeins of Blue Sky Bulky on needles the size of soup cans.

Whether it's one ball of yarn released into the wild or a whole case of them knit into something fanciful, the idea behind all of our Wild Woolies is simple. We want to spread the word about the new spirit of knitting...it's a movement, it's art, it's self-expression, it's WILD!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

tagged!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

found: wired wooly!

This just in from Suzy, who found a wild wooly at Brueggers on Monroe Avenue yesterday and has already started spreading the love:

I had just purchased my favorite cup of coffee and set it down to secure the lid of my refillable cup. There was a wild wooly just looking at me! My first thought was that someone had lost their yarn but on further inspection I saw and read the tag. What fun! I immediately picked it up and put it in my purse. Now what to do with it. I am an avid knitter but had such fun finding it I knew I wanted to pass it along. I have chosen a friend at work and snuck it into her office this morning and put it by her computer. We'll see what she does with it!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Another Wooly comes in for a landing!

Congratulations to Annette, who found the latest fly-by-night Wild Wooly in the Rochester Airport:

My sister-in-law works at the airport and found a cute little wild wooly. I had just given her a scarf I had knitted (I just taught myself to knit this past June) so she passed the little guy on to me. I've started a potholder which I plan to give back to her when finished. I'll be sure to leave a new little wooly out somewhere for someone else to find. I love this idea and was pleased when I read the tag. Are all the little extra yarn pieces from previous woolys?Love the idea. Annette

Woolies head to the land of lobstah

Wooly is lost...AND found!

This just in from Jen at the Pittsford Public LIbrary:

Hello, There was a Wild Wooly left here at our library, unfortunately, it made it only to our lost and found pile... Until I saw it laying there. I can't resist yarn when I see it, so I picked it up and read about the Wild Wooly. After checking out your web site, a coworker came up to me and asked me if anyone had claimed it, I told her no and that I just wanted to look at the web site. She said that I could probably have it since it's been sitting there for over a month. So, this Wild Wooly is going home with me tonight. Not sure yet what I am going to make with it, but I know I'll come up with something. I will keep you posted. And, I am looking forward to letting it back into the wild when I'm finished with some of my unused yarn. I'm taking a trip to South Beach, Miami in a few months, a perfect place for the Wild Wooly to be Wild!!!

wow, wooly-finders sure are honest! thanks jen...can't wait to see what happens to your wooly in south beach--quite possibly the wildest place we've been yet! don't forget people: there are FABULOUS PRIZES for the wildest creations.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

wooly goes shopping

this wooly wouldn't rest until she was taken shoe shopping in the mall. she was so whiny, though, she had to be released into the wild NOT in the shoe department (as she would have preferred) but on a bench in the middle of the food court. maybe someone will take pity on her and treat her to a latte.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Thwarted once again at- you guessed it- Wegmans!

Ok, this is just getting ridiculous.

After reading yesterday's post about the Wooly who enjoyed some pizza and beer in Florida, I got a real big hankerin' for some homemade pizza. Since I needed to go to Wegmans to pick up the fixings, I figured it'd be the perfect time to try (again) to plant a Wooly.

I got so close this time... after picking up my groceries, I wheeled my cart outside, and to the little outdoor space where they keep all the carts... I made like I was putting my receipt in my purse and trying to pick up my bags of groceries, while really slipping my hand into my purse to grab the wooly. Just as I was about to deposit out wooly friend into the Wegmans cart for the next happy shopper to find, I heard a noise behind me. Turning around slowly, I saw that I had been thwarted once again- a Wegmans worker was behind me with a stack of carts, waiting for me to move so that he could put them back!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Wooly Sited in Florida!!

From Rochester to Gainesville, FL. That is quite a trip for a fuzzy little woolly. But thanks to the DHL man, the trip was a snap!Winter is coming on up north, so woolies are apparently heading south to warmer climates. I know, it seems odd. One would think that a wooly would prefer the colder weather. After all, without cold, there would be no need for sweaters, and without sweaters, woolies would be hard pressed to find employment. However, in their wooly state, even a wooly likes to spend some time in the sun and perhaps a trip to the beach. After all, I hear a lot of knitting takes place in beach environs. If the beach was what this wooly was looking for, however, it sort of missed, landing in central Florida instead. Nothing but gators, skeeters, and swamps around here.

Not to worry though, because this wooly found the hippest joint in all of Gainesville, FL: Satchel’s Pizza. Not only does Satchel make the best pizza in the land while giving his employees a living wage and health insurance, but he has the best atmosphere and good beer to go with it. Clearly this wooly heard the rumors and decided to check it out. S/he was caught enjoying a nice refreshing wheat beer, a slice of veggie pizza, and soaking in the sun on Satchel’s patio/garden. Wooly was hoping to sit in the VW bus turned table setting, but alas, it was occupied.

Now we can only wonder what Gainesville, knitting, hipster will find this little ball of fuzzy, love and turn it into a sweater for use in colder climates.

Stay tuned on Floridian adventures of flying wooolies. Rumor has it; one might try to raise the roof at the UFlorida vs. South Carolina football game today.

Wooly enjoys an ale at The Old Toad

Last night a Wild Wooly was seen in the company of several knitters, enjoying a good English ale. The Wooly may have had just a little too much to drink, as the last place it was seen was the Women's Bathroom of The Old Toad, perched on top of the toilet paper holder. Luckily there was a long line of eager patrons waiting to enter the bathroom, so hopefully some nice soul took the Wooly home with her!

Friday, November 10, 2006

NEWSFLASH!! Second Wooly Found

this just in...the wooly shown here was found by maureen, an employee at borders...check out her lovely note:

I found a Wild Woolie while restocking books in the craft section of Borders Books in Henrietta. It was the perfect pick-me-up at the end of a long shift! I'm in the middle of making a scarf, but once it's done, I'll find a nice use for this lovely plum-colored Woolie.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Attempt #2 made at Weggies

almost busted at Starbucks!

i ordered my tall cafe americano calmly enough. then i strode over to the corner to stake out the perfect spot to drop my wild wooly. aha! the creamer bar! there, by the sugars and wooden stir sticks, some unsuspecting, caffeine-starved knitter would surely happen upon it!

i gave a quick glance around making sure no one was watching me. barrista number one was waiting on a customer. barrista number two was making my coffee drink. slowly, stealthfully, i slipped the wild wooly on the table, nestling it in the corner. heh heh, i chuckled smugly, as i stepped aside from my latest dropping. i fished my camera phone out of my bag and pretended to be very immersed in a text message as i secretly snapped a shot of my handiwork.

then, i stepped back to wait for my coffee. at that moment, one of the barristas decided to come out from behind the counter and tidy up the creamer bar. i stood there, motionless, trying not to looked panicked. my heart pounded in my chest like that scene from midnight express where the guy gets caught smuggling hash out of turkey.

she had spotted the wild wooly. she picked it up, turning it over in her hand and inspecting it as if it were a rotten tomato. "is this your yarny thing?" she inquired, holding it up by the scruff of its fibery neck. "um, nope, not mine," i said.

"i don't even know what this is," she said, placing the wild wooly back in its spot. "i'm just going to leave it right here."

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Where Are The Woolies Going

There were a number of Woolies seen leaving with Calvin and getting on his DHL truck. I wonder where they are going? West Coast? Midwest? East Coast? Down South? International?I hope they report back regarding their final destination!!

Monday, November 06, 2006

Thwarted!

A wild wooly attempted to hide in an empty shopping cart at East. Ave Wegman's... but before the wooly could snuggle into the cart, an extra-helpful Wegmans employee offered to take the cart off my hands. Thwarted by the kindness of Wegmans workers!

wild woolies fit for a caveman

wild woolysaurus rex released into its most unnatural habitat, courtesy of wild woman. (nice job photographing the wi--er, i mean, dinosaur!) can you spot it? hint: it's just beyond the guy in need of serious dental work.

other wild wooly sightings: inside the vestibule at spin caffee, on the knitting shelf in a popular bookstore, and on a pew in a historic downtown church.

Friday, November 03, 2006

first wild woolies released into the wild!

behold...these first wild woolies as they are pulled out of their element and placed into the wilds of park avenue. please remember: a wild wooly is only truly happy when she's claimed by a wild knitter! don't let these poor, defenseless woolies languish in the wild. take them home. love them. knit with them. it's the right thing to do.

about the projectthe wild woolies project is an effort to share the joys of knitting and its unique power to bring people together. powered by a group called "the wild bunch," the project has included random placement of balls of yarn in the wild, knit graffiti, and knitting for the public good. what will you make of it? email lucinda(at)wildwoolsyarn(dot)com and we'll post your wild & wooly musings here. best stories will be included in an upcoming book.

click here to download a hangtag so you can create your very own wild wooly!